dienasgramata:

The chickpea was used as a food item in Palestine before 4000 BC and was a common street dish in ancient Rome. The chickpea was one of the earliest crops cultivated in Mesopotamia. Archeological evidence identifies chickpeas in the Sumerian diet before 2500 B.C. They are included in a 13th century work by Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn al-Karim al Katab al Baghdadi of Persia for a 'simple dish' of meat, pulses and spices.